Losing the World Series again

When your team loses the World Series for the second year in a row it makes you wax philosophical.

On one hand, it's a good thing your team made it to the World Series two years in a row. That means your team won two straight National League championships.

That means your team finished better than 28 other teams. That means your team did better than last year's champs, the Houston Astros, and the New York Yankees.

But it still means your team finished second -- again.

I don't like fans that play the blame game after their teams lose.

Some are calling for a new manager, departure from analytics, new players who will play better.

Look, the Dodgers already have the priciest payroll and a loaded roster. They struggled but still won 92 games to eke into the playoffs. They won the division series against Atlanta and the NLCS over Milwaukee.

Not exactly a failed season.

The Red Sox, however, were better. They took the 100-win Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS, the defending champion Astros 4-1 in the ALCS and the Dodgers 4-1 in the Series. That's a dominating 11-3 in the playoffs and 119 wins in 2018. 

Only the 1998 Yankees (125) and 2001 Mariners (120) won more games in a single season. This team will go down as one of the best in baseball history.

Not that it makes the medicine go down any easier. The Dodgers, like the Yankees and Astros, did not offer much resistance.

But hey, it was a fun ride nonetheless.

Dodgers in a World Series hole

Well, there was a reason the oddmakers had Boston as the heavy favorite in the World Series -- they are darn good.

After dropping 8-4 and 4-2 losses at Fenway, the Dodgers return home to the friendly confines of Chavez Ravine for Games Three, Four and hopefully, Five this weekend.

The odds continue to be in Boston's favor. Of the 51 times teams have taken a 2-0 lead in the 2-3-2 playoff format, 41 of those teams won the series. Which means 10 times teams made a comeback.

Here are reasons for hope:

• Boston will possibly start two righties in Games Three and Four (Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi), which means L.A.'s left-handed power (Muncy, Bellinger, Pederson, Grandal) will be back in the starting lineup.
• The Dodgers will throw Walker Buehler and Rich Hill in Games Three and Four as they try to make a comeback. Buehler is the nascent ace of the staff and Hill has been money as of late. Chris Sale was so-so in Game One but David Price was lights out in Game Two. Let's hope the momentum shifts.
• The weather. Ok, you can't blame the two losses on the weather, but it was a miserable 45 degrees in Fenway last night. The players were bundled up like Packers fans at a January outdoor game. It will be in the low-80's in L.A. this weekend. Baseball weather. Gotta be a lift for the boys in blue.
• No DH, which means the Red Sox pitchers will have to hit and Alex Cora will have to manage National League rules. A subtle nuance, but hey, when you are down two games to none you gotta find hope where you can.

Brian Dozier said it well after last night's loss. "Going home, that can be rejuvenating. We lost back to back, but this team has been resilient. You can wallow in self-pity, or do something about it."

Go Dodgers.

Dodgers are underdogs against Boston

After Saturday's Game Seven win over Milwaukee to win the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers barely had time to wipe the champagne out of their eyes before thinking about their World Series foe, the Boston Red Sox.

Boston won a major league-best 108 games this year and cut through the Yankees and the Astros like butter.

Las Vegas has the Red Sox as a prohibitive favorite to win the Series.

It's a good thing they play these games on the field, not in a computer simulation.

The Dodgers went to the seventh game of the World Series a year ago only to be denied the ultimate prize.

That's the kind of thing that sticks in your craw for a while.

Boston is good, no doubt about it. But don't be too quick to count out veterans like Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Justin Turner, Matt Kemp and Ryan Madson, who realize their window to get a ring may be closing. And then there's Manny Machado, who hasn't been a Dodger very long but could catch lightning in a bottle as a mid-season acquisition.

As a boy growing up in Bell Gardens, California, me and my buddies (Yeah you Hartnett) use to have summertime wiffle ball and spray can lid (they produce wicked curves) games in my backyard. We used flour to chalk out baselines and even had our own version of the Green Monster, someone's two story garage in the rear of the property.

When I wasn't the Dodgers I liked to be Boston, with Jim Lonborg pitching and Carl Yastremski leading the offense. Boston won the American League pennant in 1967, when I was 11 years old. They reached the World Series by edging out Detroit and Minnesota by one game but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Series.

Years later I was attending a conference in Boston and skipped out on a dinner speaker to take the Green Line to Fenway to watch the Red Sox and Orioles play. Cal Ripken was playing for the Orioles that night as he marched toward the end of an amazing career.

I asked the hotel concierge to get me the best seat available and he rewarded me with a choice spot off third base about three rows in.


Now here we are, a lifetime later, the Dodgers playing in Fenway for all the marbles.


If I hit one over the fig tree it would be a homer.

Dodgers a win away from return to Series

A year ago, the Dodgers battled to the seventh game of the World Series only to lose to the Houston Astros when Yu Darvish was pummeled.

Now the Dodgers are up 3-2 in the NLCS, a win away from a return to the Fall Classic and a date with Boston after Clayton Kershaw's gem on Wednesday. Kershaw held Milwaukee to one run on three hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts as he rode his slider and curve ball to a vintage outing.

His fastball didn't crack 92 miles per hour but his off-speed pitches had the Brewers lunging and leaning.

Pedro Baez, Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Madson and Kenley Jansen finished the final two innings and timely hitting by Austin Barnes, Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, Brian Dozier, Max Muncy and Justin Turner propelled Los Angeles to a 5-2 victory.

The Dodgers send Hyun-Jin Ryu to the hill tonight against Wade Miley as Los Angeles looks to close out the NLCS in six games. A Milwaukee victory would force a deciding seventh game on Saturday.

Boston closed out Houston for a 4-1 series win and await the National League representative to start the World Series Tuesday.

Milwaukee came into the NLCS touting a strong bullpen, and they have delivered. However, the Dodgers' relievers have stepped up with Madson, Ferguson, Baez and Kenta Maeda playing major roles in the playoffs.

Brewers' manager Craig Counsell pulled the switcheroo on the Dodgers by sending Wade Miley out for the first batter then switching to right-hander Brandon Woodruff, a move designed to throw off the Los Angeles lineup with a last-minute change to a righty.

Woodruff gave up three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings and right-hander Joakim Soria was tagged for the final two runs.

L.A.'s platoon system, showcasing a deep bench, paid off Wednesday as Barnes, Bellinger, Puig, Muncy and Dozier had critical at bats. Look for right-handed hitters David Freese, Dozier, Kike Hernandez and Matt Kemp to make appearances against Miley.

Bellinger breaks out to even series

Cody Bellinger's 13th inning walk-off single to right field in the early morning hours here on the East Coast kept the Dodgers alive in the National League Championship Series.


 Down 2-1 in the NLCS against Milwaukee, another loss would have put the Dodgers in a deep, deep hole.


Instead, the 2-1 thriller knotted the series at 2-2 and gives Los Angeles a shot at advancing to the World Series for the second year in a row.


 Clayton Kershaw gets the ball today and will try to atone for his Game Two disaster when he gave up five runs on six hits and lasted only three innings in a 6-5 loss.



Kershaw will face off against Wade Miley, who held the Dodgers to two hits over 5.2 innings in the Game Two loss to the Dodgers.


In the critical Game Four, Dave Roberts used every player on the roster to outlast the Brewers, who have one of the deepest pens in baseball.


Rich Hill was masterful over five frames before handing the reins over to the pen, where Pedro Baez, Kenta Maeda, Ryan Madson, Caleb Ferguson, Kenley Jansen, Alex Wood, Dylan Floro, and Julio Urias pitched shutout ball to stifle the Brewers.


Bellinger got two of L.A.'s seven hits to raise his playoff batting average to .214, but his walk-off couldn't have come at a better time. L.A.'s other run came in the first inning when Chris Taylor drew a walk, moved to second on a Justin Turner ground out and scored on a Brian Dozier single to left.


L.A.'s defense was stellar with Bellinger and Taylor making circus catches and Turner making a great stab at third.

                                                                                 

Hurricanes, babies and the Dodgers

The juxtapositions we face in our lives can be stark and startling.

Take today, for instance.

A major hurricane is coming ashore a couple of hours away on the Florida Gulf Coast with our Tallahassee in line for major wind and rain later this afternoon. Because we live in a tree paradise, we will most likely lose power in a few hours.

Meanwhile, my daughter, her husband and newest grandchild are a few miles away in a hospital because the hospital is in a lock down due to the hurricane. They may let them come home tomorrow. For now, photos sent on a smartphone will have to suffice. I look forward to that new baby smell, one of the few aromas that exceeds the leather in a new car.

And then there's the Dodgers, fresh off a 3-1 series win over the Braves, getting ready to face off against Milwaukee. The Brewers dispatched the Rockies in three straight and figure to be a hand full.

The good news for the Dodgers is that Clayton Kershaw, pitching in the second game, was masterful over eight innings and Hyun Jin-Ryu, who started the Atlanta series, was equally impressive.

Rookie Walker Buehler, the ace in waiting, had a rocky inning against the Braves in a 6-5 loss but he will be just fine against the Brewers. And then there's Kenley Jansen, who showed no ill effects of recent health issues as he shut down the Braves in the series finale.

With the bats, we started to see why Manny Machado was such a big investment. Machado hit a pair of dingers against the Braves, including a key three-run shot in the clinching Game Four. Max Muncy, David Freese, Joc Pederson, Matt Kemp, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal had moments against Atlanta as the Dodgers seem to be peaking at the right time.

If the Dodgers can get past the Brewers, they will face either Houston or Boston in the World Series. The Astros might even be better than the team that won it all a year ago and the Red Sox just plowed through the Yankees with ease. That series will be fun to watch.

But for now, Milwaukee presents a real test.

October baseball. The playoffs. Hurricanes. New babies. This life is good.

Dodgers win the West, face Braves in NLDS

Walker Buehler had his coming out party as the Dodgers' ace last night, shutting down Colorado in a 5-2 win over the Rockies that gave Los Angeles their sixth straight NL West title.

Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy hit two-run homers and Buehler got the first RBI of his career as the Dodgers earned a spot against Atlanta in the NLDS starting Thursday at Chavez Ravine.

Buehler went 6.2 innings, struck out three and surrendered one hit in the biggest game of the year so far. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth and gave up solo homers to Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story, but it was a case of too little, too late for the Rockies, who play in the Wild Card play-in game tonight.

The Dodgers went 5-2 against Atlanta this year, and if they get past the Braves, they will face off against the Milwaukee/Colorado/Chicago winner in the NLCS.

Hyun Jin Ryu will be on the bump Thursday in LA with Clayton Kershaw scheduled to go Friday. Games 3 & 4 will be in Atlanta Sunday and Monday with a Game 5, if necessary, back at Chavez Ravine on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Former Dodger Charlie Culberson is the shortstop for the Braves, which have a lineup led by Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna, Jr., Nick Markakis and Ozzie Albies. All-Star Mike Foltynewicz, a righty, will be on the mound for the Braves on Thursday.

Ryu has been lights out since coming off the DL, posting a 7-3 record and 1.97 ERA. Foltynewicz is 13-10 with a 2.85 ERA.

Buehler has the title in his hands

The Dodgers host the Rockies today with the NL West division title on the line.


It figures to be a pitcher's duel, with rookie Walker Buehler facing off against Colorado's German Marquez.

Marquez has tamed the Dodgers twice at Dodger Stadium this season and Buehler is 0-1 against the Rocks with a 2.61 ERA.

The Rockies appear to have the edge on the mound.

The Dodgers erupted for 15 runs against the Giants to end the season in a tie for the division yesterday and are capable of busting out on offense -- but Marquez has been able to figure out the LA lineup on two previous occasions so don't expect a Los Angeles explosion.

If the Dodgers lose today they will play in the Wild Card play-in game tomorrow against the Chicago-Milwaukee loser for a trip to the playoffs.

Los Angeles, if they get that far, would play Thursday against either Atlanta or the Cubs-Brewers winner.

A well-rested Clayton Kershaw would take the mound Thursday. Kershaw, the finest Dodgers' pitcher since Sandy Koufax, is in a peculiar situation. He is a free agent after the season and the Dodgers have to decide whether to sign him to a long-term contract.

At 30, his fastball has lost 3-4 mph velocity and he can no longer overpower batters like he used to do. Though teetering on sacrilege to Dodgers' fans, I don't think they should open the checkbook for  one of the best that ever played the game. His back injuries and fading velocity have taken a toll.

Kershaw is now a good pitcher. He used to be a great one. It's time for the Dodgers to move on. Pursue another ace to go along with the rising Buehler, Julio Urias and other young guns.